Pursuant to its rulemaking authority set forth in N.J.S.A. 45:14C-7, the
State Board of Master Plumbers (the "Board") proposes new subchapter
N.J.A.C. 13:32-6 establishing continuing education requirements and
standards for continuing education programs.

The amendment to N.J.A.C. 13:32-5.1 sets forth that the continuing
education sponsor application fee is $100.00.

New rule N.J.A.C. 13:32-6.1 sets forth the continuing education
requirements for licensees. Subsection (a) requires every licensee to take five
credits of continuing education every biennial period. The rule, however,
exempts licensees who are renewing their license for the first time from the
continuing education requirements. Subsection (b) requires a licensee, when
renewing a license, to indicate that he or she has completed the continuing
education requirements for the previous biennial period. A licensee who fails
to meet the continuing education requirements of subchapter 6, or who falsifies
any information submitted to the Board, may be subject to disciplinary
measures. Subsection (c) states that a licensee who is not practicing and whose
license is inactive is not required to meet the continuing education
requirement; however, if the licensee wishes to reactivate an inactive license,
the continuing education requirements from the preceding biennial period must
be completed prior to reinstatement. Subsection (d) requires that every
licensee maintain documentation of attendance at education courses taken over
the previous four years. A licensee who teaches a continuing education course
is considered to have met the continuing education requirements and must
maintain records, for a four year period, which indicate that he or she taught
a continuing education course during that biennial period. Subsection (e)
allows the Board to review a licensee's records to ensure that he or she has
completed the continuing education requirements.

N.J.A.C. 13:32-6.2 sets forth standards for the approval of continuing
education sponsors. Subsection (a) states that sponsors of continuing education
courses must obtain Board approval prior to offering a continuing education
course. The Board must keep a list of all approved courses and provide that
list to licensees upon request. Subsection (b) requires sponsors who seek Board
approval to appear before the Board and submit a course description, curriculum
vitae for all instructors and the continuing education sponsor application fee.
Subsection (c) requires sponsors to provide every student who attends their
course a verification of attendance form. Subsection (d) requires sponsors to
maintain an attendance log for every course and send this log to the Board.
These logs will be used by the Board to verify that licensees have met the
continuing education requirements. Subsection (e) requires course sponsors to
maintain course evaluations from attendees and instructors as part of their
records. Subsection (f) states the Board may observe an instructor during the
presentation of a continuing education course, or may conduct an interview with
an instructor during a Board meeting, in order to determine the instructor's
qualification or knowledge of the course subject matter. Subsection (g) limits
the size of a continuing education class to 50 people.

N.J.A.C. 13:32-6.3 outlines how topics that sponsors will be required to
cover in continuing education courses will be determined. Subsection (a) states
that three months prior to the beginning of a biennial period, the Board will
consider what subjects it wishes sponsors to present during the new biennial
period. The Board believes this approach will identify those areas of concern
for the Board or licensees. Under subsection (b), the Board will publish a list
of the courses decided upon in the New Jersey Register and maintain a copy of
this list in the Board offices.

N.J.A.C. 13:32-6.4 sets forth how much credit will be awarded for
continuing education courses. Subsection (a) states that one credit of
continuing education equals one hour of attendance at a continuing education
course. Subsection (b) states that a person who teaches a continuing education
course will be given five credits towards the fulfillment of the continuing
education requirement.

N.J.A.C. 13:32-6.5 allows the Board to waive continuing education
requirements for any individual for reasons of hardship or other good cause.
The rule states that any licensee who seeks a waiver must apply to the Board in
writing and set forth in specific detail the reasons for requesting the waiver.

The Board has determined that the comment period for this proposal shall be 60
days; therefore, pursuant to N.J.A.C. 1:30-3.3(a)5, this proposal is
excepted from the rulemaking calendar requirement.

Social Impact

The proposed new rules and amendment will have a positive impact on consumers
who use the services of licensees. The rules ensure that licensed master
plumbers maintain continuing proficiency in the use and application of new
techniques, advancements in the profession and knowledge of changes to laws and
regulations which impact plumbing, to the benefit of the public.

The proposed new rules impact licensees who must now commit time to complete
the continuing education requirement and to maintain appropriate documentation.
The proposed new rules are, however, of benefit to licensees by assuring that
they will be in a position to enhance their knowledge of the professional
standards and applicable laws and regulations.

Economic Impact

The Board believes that the proposed new rules and amendment will have an
economic impact upon its licensees since they will have to pay a fee for the
continuing education courses that these rules require them to take. The Board,
however, does not impose nor control the fees for such courses and is unable to
estimate what cost the sponsors will impose. The new rules and amendment will
also impact those individuals who apply for approval as a sponsor of a
continuing education course, as these individuals must pay a fee when applying
for approval and incur the administrative costs in applying for sponsorship
approval, furnishing verifications of attendance, maintaining and submitting
attendance log, and obtaining and maintaining course evaluations.

Federal Standards Statement

A Federal standards statement is not required because there are no Federal
standards or requirements applicable to the continuing education requirements
of the proposed new rules and amendment.

Jobs Impact

The Board believes that the proposed new rules and amendment may increase jobs
in the State in that there may be a need for continuing education sponsors to
hire instructors to teach the course topics as determined by the Board each
biennial period.

Agriculture Industry Impact

The Board does not believe that the proposed new rules and amendment will have
any impact on the agriculture industry of this State.

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis

The Regulatory Flexibility Act (the Act), N.J.S.A. 52:14B-16 et seq.,
requires the Board to give a description of the types and an estimate of the
number of small businesses to which the proposed new rules and amendment will
apply. If the approximately 7,000 master plumbers which the Board licenses are
considered "small businesses" for the purposes of the Act, then the following
analysis applies.

The Act requires the Board to set forth the reporting, recordkeeping and other
compliance requirements of the proposed new rules and amendment including the
kinds of professional services likely to be needed to comply with the
requirements. The Act further requires the Board to estimate the initial and
annual compliance costs of the proposed new rules and amendment with an
indication of the varying impact on small businesses of differing types and
sizes and to outline the manner in which it has designed the rules to minimize
any adverse economic impact upon small businesses.

The Board does not believe that licensees and sponsors will need to employ any
professional services to comply with the requirements of the proposed new rules
and amendment.

The rule imposes several compliance, reporting and recordkeeping requirements
on licensees. N.J.A.C. 13:32-6.1 requires all licensees to take five credits
of continuing education every biennial period. The rule also requires a
licensee to indicate on the biennial renewal form that he or she has completed
the continuing education requirements for the past biennial period and to
maintain a record of all verification of attendance forms for a period of four
years. N.J.A.C. 13:32-6.5 requires any licensee seeking a waiver to submit a
request to the Board in writing which sets forth the reasons for requesting the
waiver.

The rule also imposes several compliance, reporting and recordkeeping
requirements on sponsors of continuing education programs. N.J.A.C. 13:32-
6.2 requires all sponsors to obtain Board approval prior to offering a
continuing education course. Sponsors must appear before the Board for this
approval, pay the continuing education sponsor application fee and submit
course descriptions and the curriculum vitae of all instructors. The sponsor is
required to provide students with verification of attendance forms, to maintain
a log of students who attended a course and to submit this log to the Board.
The sponsor also must obtain and keep as part of its records student and
instructor evaluations. The rule limits class size to no more than 50 people.
Costs that may be incurred are discussed in the Economic Impact above.

The Board believes that because the proposed new rules further the welfare and
safety of the public in its dealings with licensees by ensuring that licensees
take continuing education courses that enable them to practice with greater
knowledge and expertise, the rules must be applied uniformly to all licensees
and sponsors regardless of their size.

Full text of the proposal follows :

<< NJ ADC 13:32-5.1 >>

13:32-5.1 Fee schedule

(a) The following fees shall be charged by the Board:

1.-13. (No change.)

14. Continuing education sponsor application fee .. $100.00

<<+SUBCHAPTER 6. CONTINUING EDUCATION+>>

<< NJ ADC 13:32-6.1 >>

<<+13:32-6.1 License renewal, continuing education requirement+>>

<<+(a) Every licensee shall successfully complete five credits
of continuing education at an approved course per biennial period.
Licensees applying for their first biennial renewal are exempt from this
continuing education requirement.+>>

<<+(b) A licensee shall indicate on the license renewal form
that he or she has completed the continuing education requirements
required by this subchapter. Failure to meet the continuing education
requirements as set forth in this subchapter or the falsification of any
information submitted with the renewal application may result in an
appearance before the Board, or the imposition of disciplinary sanctions
pursuant to N.J.S.A. 45:1-21 et seq.+>>

<<+(c) A person whose license is inactive shall not be
required to take continuing education courses during the period of
inactive status. A person who wishes to reactivate his or her license
shall successfully complete continuing education credits for the
biennial period immediately preceding his or her reactivation.+>>

<<+(d) Every licensee shall maintain, for a period of four
years, a record of all verification of attendance forms for all
continuing education courses the licensee has completed. Licensees who
teach a continuing education course during a biennial period shall
maintain, for a four year period, records which indicate that the
licensee has taught a Board approved continuing education
course.+>>

<<+(e) The Board may review the records of any licensee, at
any time, in order to ensure that the licensee has complied with the
continuing education requirements.+>>

<< NJ ADC 13:32-6.2 >>

<<+13:32-6.2 Continuing education sponsors; Board approval; duties+>>

<<+(a) All sponsors of continuing education courses shall
obtain Board approval prior to offering a continuing education course
for an upcoming biennial period. The Board shall maintain a list of
approved courses at the Board offices and shall furnish this
information to licensees upon request.+>>

<<+(b) A sponsor seeking Board approval shall appear before
the Board and submit, prior to that appearance, the following:+>>

<<+(c) The sponsor of a continuing education course shall
furnish each attendee a verification of attendance, which shall include
the following:+>>

<<+1. The title, date and location of course or program offering;+>>

<<+2. The name and license number of the attendee;+>>

<<+3. The number of hours attended; and+>>

<<+4. The name and signature of the sponsor or instructor.+>>

<<+(d) The sponsor of a continuing education course shall
monitor the attendance at each approved course and maintain an
attendance log which lists the name and license number of every licensee
who attends a course. The program sponsor shall submit the attendance
log to the Board upon completion of the course. The log shall document
that each licensee has completed the sponsor's course.+>>

<<+(e) The sponsor shall obtain course evaluations from both
participants and instructors and maintain these evaluations as part of
the sponsor records.+>>

<<+(f) The Board may evaluate the performance of any
continuing education instructor through observation of the instructor
during the presentation of a course or evaluate the qualifications and
abilities of the instructor by conducting an interview during a Board
meeting.+>>

<<+(g) A continuing education class shall consist of no more than 50 people.+>>

<< NJ ADC 13:32-6.3 >>

<<+13:32-6.3 Required course topics+>>

<<+(a) Three months prior to the beginning of a biennial
period, the Board shall determine which topics shall be provided by
program sponsors for the upcoming biennial period. The Board shall
determine these topics at a regularly scheduled public Board
meeting.+>>

<<+(b) The list of topics which shall be required by the Board
for a biennial period shall be published as a public notice in the New
Jersey Register and shall be available at the Board offices.+>>

<< NJ ADC 13:32-6.4 >>

<<+13:32-6.4 Credit awarded+>>

<<+(a) One continuing education credit shall equal one hour of
attendance at a continuing education course.+>>

<<+(b) A licensee who teaches a continuing education course
shall earn five credits of continuing education for the biennial period
in which he or she teaches.+>>

<< NJ ADC 13:32-6.5 >>

<<+13:32-6.5 Waiver of continuing education requirement+>>

<<+(a) The Board may waive continuing education requirements
on an individual basis for reasons of hardship, such as illness,
disability, military duty or other good cause which prevents the
licensee from completing continuing education credits during a biennial
period.+>>

<<+(b) Any licensee seeking a waiver of the continuing
education requirements shall apply to the Board in writing and set forth
in specific detail the reasons for requesting the waiver. The licensee
shall provide the Board with such supplemental materials as will support
the request for waiver.+>>